Angry students demanding recounselling marked the beginning of the counselling for the Postgraduate (PG) courses in Bangalore University (BU) here on Monday. Not only were students and parents complaining about the counselling process being decentralised this year, but those paying the fees were also stuck in the serpentine queues.
Scenes of unrest were witnessed at Manasa Bhavan — venue for counselling for psychology courses. While tempers rose due to the slow pace of counselling, the announcement midway that seats in two colleges — CMR Institute of Management Studies and Kristu Jayanti College — would not be available as they have gained autonomy caused commotion.
The announcement came as a rude shock to J. Vidyashree, an M.Sc. Psychology seat aspirant who had applied only for CMR Institute of Management Studies.
“In the prospectus that was issued a week ago, they have clearly mentioned that 10 seats are available in the college. At 3.30 p.m. today, they announced that seats in Kristu Jayanti College and CMR will not be available as they have become autonomous. Where am I supposed to go now?” she asked.
Most students who had studied in BU-affiliated colleges said that the BU counselling was their only shot at pursuing a PG course this year as the BU undergraduate results were announced so late that admissions to other varsities were long over.
University of Madras’ B.Sc. psychology topper Deepmala Rai, a native of West Bengal, was also shattered. Hoping to study M.Sc. in clinical psychology which was not available in her university, she was distressed when she found out that only half of the 116 seats were for general merit (GM) students.
Finally, at around 6.30 p.m., Vice-Chancellor B. Thimme Gowda and Registrar (Administration) K.K. Seethamma intervened as the situation began getting out of hand.
After assessing the situation, Prof. Gowda, requesting them to return on Tuesday, assured the students that no violation had taken place and any complaints could be brought to the varsity’s notice.
